Latest news with #Selene
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Condo next door sues developer building tallest twin towers on Fort Lauderdale beach
Can you sue over a view? Alhambra Place, a condo tower in Fort Lauderdale with a view of the beach, is doing just that — alleging breach of contract and seeking more than $10 million in damages. For 24 years, residents of the 16-story condo tower at 209 N. Birch Road have enjoyed an unfettered view of the ocean. Then along came Selene, twin 26-story condo towers going up to the east of Alhambra Place. The project's design was substantially altered despite a development agreement the builder made with Alhambra's condo association in July 2020, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Broward Circuit Court. The lawsuit lists The Kolter Group and KT Seabreeze Atlantic as defendants, claiming they submitted a slew of plan revisions 'aimed at cutting costs and increasing profits' without the knowledge or consent of Alhambra's condo association. The revisions dramatically altered the exterior design of the project and were 'solely made to enhance (the developer's) bottom line,' according to the suit. 'It's a totally different project,' said Keith Poliakoff, one of the attorneys representing Alhambra Place. 'Alhambra had no idea. Some of those changes affect the view corridor for Alhambra.' The Kolter Group has not yet filed a formal response to the lawsuit. KT Seabreeze Atlantic is no longer in business, according to the lawsuit as well as state records. Bob Vail, a high-ranking official at Kolter, referred questions to Stephanie Toothaker, attorney for the developer. Toothaker could not be reached this week despite two texts seeking comment. Jim Novick lives on the 11th floor of Alhambra Place, where he serves as president of the condo association. In March, Novick said he noticed the towers going up across the street didn't quite look like the renderings he and his neighbors had been shown before construction began nearly four years ago. 'It was pretty far along when we noticed things didn't seem right,' Novick said. 'There was equipment in the way. When the cranes came down, I was like, 'Oh my God, that's not supposed to be there.' They took out the glass. They added more stucco to save money. They made the one balcony on the sixth floor bigger.' Novick says he contacted the developer with his concerns. 'I was telling them to take the balcony down,' he said. 'I told them my board's not going to be happy with this. See what you can do to fix these things. They said they'd get back to me on all these changes. And they never got back to me.' That's when the condo board decided to sue, Novick said. Selene's twin towers will be the tallest on the beach, rising 300 feet above sea level at 3000 Alhambra St. Residential projects built on that part of the beach have a height cap of 200 feet. But in late 2020, Fort Lauderdale commissioners signed off on special zoning that allowed the builder to go higher. An earlier design called for a shorter and blockier set of towers that would have stood 200 feet high, with nearly 100 more condos and three times the space for restaurants and shops. But residents at Alhambra Place preferred the developer build taller, thinner towers to help preserve their views. 'If they build a big giant box in front of us, it's the end of our universe,' Novick told commissioners at the time. 'We had one unit owner say, 'We'll never see the sun if they build this.'' The project won commission approval in October 2020. Less than two years later, the developer returned to the commission to request approval for what it called an administrative amendment to the approved site plan. Alarmed by the proposed changes, Novick said he flew down from his second home in Boston to speak at the July 2022 meeting and voice his objection. During the meeting, Toothaker told the commission her client was requesting changes to the project's dimensional standards and architecture. That night, the developer withdrew the request for changes related to dimensional standards and architecture, the lawsuit states. The only changes requested — and approved — involved a reduction in the number of condo units from 215 to 196; an increase in the restaurant and retail space by 500 square feet; and a corresponding reduction in private parking spaces from 497 to 480. 'I came back on July 4 from Boston, left my family, got on the plane and went down to City Hall to testify,' Novick said. 'And they withdrew the proposal. And I thanked them.' But the developer came back later on to ask city staff to sign off on several modifications identical to those that had been withdrawn at the commission meeting, the lawsuit alleges. 'They submitted changes and got them administratively approved by city staff with no one knowing,' Poliakoff said. 'City staff said they were minor modifications. These were not minor modifications.' On April 23, 2025, Alhambra's condo association sent the developer a notice accusing them of breach of contract. The notice claims several design changes were made in violation of the development agreement the developer made with Alhambra Place. Among them: 1. The elegant, round columns that floated outside of the façade at the L-shaped indented building corners were eliminated and replaced with a 90-degree building corner and integral corner edge column. The elimination of this feature detracts from its appearance and makes the building look wider. 2. The north façade of the east tower, level 5, was constructed with a balcony that extends well beyond the balcony line of the tower to the edge of the amenities deck. 3. West-facing level 4 of the east tower is constructed with large expanses of concrete, inconsistent with renderings that depict all glass and an open, unobstructed balcony. 1. The one-story spa extending from the west tower was reduced on the second administrative revision, adding about 30 feet more north-south open area. 2. The portion of the dog park west of the stair tower was eliminated and walled off from the reconfigured dog park. This is inconsistent with unit-view renderings. 3. The fourth level of the east tower is only partially glass, inconsistent with unit-view renderings that show an all-glass façade. 1. On the unit-view renderings, glass comprises between 65% and 70% of the west-facing podium façade's vertical section of levels 1.5, 2 and 3, but only about 47% as constructed. 2. The unit-view renderings show no exposed columns other than at the corners, whereas an exposed middle column was added to the constructed product. 3. The agreement calls for frosted glass on the west face of the parking structure. The actual construction appears to show tinted glass. The towers are expected to open later this year. 'Plaintiff believes that there are additional violations and defaults of the terms of the agreement and shall, hereafter, seek a complete inspection of the property,' the lawsuit says. Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@ Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
Scottish Sun
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Mum goes viral for her ‘half naked' outfit choice at son's graduation, but insists she doesn't see a ‘problem'
She hit back at critics as she insisted she was "fully covered" in the ensemble DRESS CRITICISM Mum goes viral for her 'half naked' outfit choice at son's graduation, but insists she doesn't see a 'problem' A MUM has found herself going viral after sharing pictures with her son at his graduation. Selene took to Instagram to proudly post the pictures alongside her "kiddo", who wore his mortarboard and gown on his big day. 2 A mum has gone viral for the dress she wore to her son's graduation Credit: Instagram/@iamselenecastle 2 She turned to the side, which highlighted her curves even more Credit: Instagram/@iamselenecastle Alongside the snaps, she wrote: "I'm such a proud mama!! "My baby graduated at the top of his class! "I'm so excited to see what the future holds for you kiddo. "Sky is the limit!" She chose a bodycon black dress for the occasion, with the strappy number clinging to her figure and highlighting her curves. Selene also stood side on to the camera for the snaps, which drew attention to her derriere even more. She teamed the dress with a pair of black patent heels, and left her curly hair loose. And while many people offered Selene and her son their congratulations in the comments section on the Instagram post, others slammed her outfit choice. "His mum be half naked on here!" one raged. "Why would you embarrass your son like this?" another added. I'm a midsize 12 and I've found the perfect pair of jeans that suit all body shapes - they're so stretchy and affordable "You could have just congratulated him in person and kept the pics. "Take this down, you're humiliating him." "She stole his moment - why this dress for her son's graduation party?" a third commented. "She is irresponsible." "Poor kid," someone else said. "What the hell are you doing?" another shouted. What's the best style that suits everyone? ACCORDING to the fashion pros at Fabulous, there's a new style of dress that suits all body shapes. Low-slung, dropped-waist silhouette styles have surged, thanks to the Noughties fashion trend that has swept the catwalks, social media and, of course, the high street. First seen on the runways of luxury labels Molly Goddard and Jil Sander, the style typically cinches around the hip and pelvic area rather than the waist. Now a plethora of more affordable options of the dress that suits a number of body shapes have dropped just as the sun starts to come out. Clemmie Fieldsend, Fashion Editor, said: "There's something so stylish about these dresses, and I love them. "The simplicity of the top half teamed with the full skirt is like a sleeker and more grown-up tutu. "I have a short torso so the dropped waist makes my body look longer, but, thankfully, the long skirt means your legs don't look shorter. "Plus it means I can tap into the low-waist trend without baring all in a pair of low-slung jeans. "I know I'll be living in mine all summer, paired with black sandals and sunnies, but for now all I need is a blazer slipped over the top and a closed-toe shoe and I'm ready to go." Meanwhile, Fashion Director, Tracey Lea Sayer, added: "I remember dropped-waist dresses from the 80s. I loved them then and I still love them again now! "Forty years on from when they were first popular and I am not so sure they will be quite as flattering around my middle, because two kids and middle-aged spread later, my waist doesn't exist any more. "With a dress like this I can disguise my middle bit and still feel on trend for summer." As someone else said Selene's son looked "extremely uncomfortable", another called her "embarrassing". "Just had to do the side view, your poor son," someone lese commented. "Embarrassing," another shouted. "That youngster is gonna be made fun of his entire life for her poor decisions," someone else sighed. "I'm sure he's ashamed of being around you," another insisted. However, Selene hit back at the criticism, as she wrote: "I literally have a dress on all the way down to my knees, fully covered. "There was a lot of mums, aunties and grandmas wearing the same kind of dress. "But since I'm not a size 2 or shaped like a a square, it's a problem when I do it. OKAY!" And there were those in the comments who defended Selene, with one writing: "She can't help that she's fine, y'all lol!" "Nothing wrong with your outfit, you are beautiful," another added. "Slay it sis!!! You looks amazing!" a third commented. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and you look like a proud and beautiful mum, dressed appropriately," someone else said. "You look amazing, congrats to your boy for his achievement," another agreed.
The Sun
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Mum goes viral for her ‘half naked' outfit choice at son's graduation, but insists she doesn't see a ‘problem'
A MUM has found herself going viral after sharing pictures with her son at his graduation. Selene took to Instagram to proudly post the pictures alongside her "kiddo", who wore his mortarboard and gown on his big day. 2 2 Alongside the snaps, she wrote: "I'm such a proud mama!! "My baby graduated at the top of his class! "I'm so excited to see what the future holds for you kiddo. "Sky is the limit!" She chose a bodycon black dress for the occasion, with the strappy number clinging to her figure and highlighting her curves. Selene also stood side on to the camera for the snaps, which drew attention to her derriere even more. She teamed the dress with a pair of black patent heels, and left her curly hair loose. And while many people offered Selene and her son their congratulations in the comments section on the Instagram post, others slammed her outfit choice. "His mum be half naked on here!" one raged. "Why would you embarrass your son like this?" another added. I'm a midsize 12 and I've found the perfect pair of jeans that suit all body shapes - they're so stretchy and affordable "You could have just congratulated him in person and kept the pics. "Take this down, you're humiliating him." "She stole his moment - why this dress for her son's graduation party?" a third commented. "She is irresponsible." "Poor kid," someone else said. "What the hell are you doing?" another shouted. What's the best style that suits everyone? ACCORDING to the fashion pros at Fabulous, there's a new style of dress that suits all body shapes. Low-slung, dropped-waist silhouette styles have surged, thanks to the Noughties fashion trend that has swept the catwalks, social media and, of course, the high street. First seen on the runways of luxury labels Molly Goddard and Jil Sander, the style typically cinches around the hip and pelvic area rather than the waist. Now a plethora of more affordable options of the dress that suits a number of body shapes have dropped just as the sun starts to come out. Clemmie Fieldsend, Fashion Editor, said: "There's something so stylish about these dresses, and I love them. "The simplicity of the top half teamed with the full skirt is like a sleeker and more grown-up tutu. "I have a short torso so the dropped waist makes my body look longer, but, thankfully, the long skirt means your legs don't look shorter. "Plus it means I can tap into the low-waist trend without baring all in a pair of low-slung jeans. "I know I'll be living in mine all summer, paired with black sandals and sunnies, but for now all I need is a blazer slipped over the top and a closed-toe shoe and I'm ready to go." Meanwhile, Fashion Director, Tracey Lea Sayer, added: "I remember dropped-waist dresses from the 80s. I loved them then and I still love them again now! "Forty years on from when they were first popular and I am not so sure they will be quite as flattering around my middle, because two kids and middle-aged spread later, my waist doesn't exist any more. "With a dress like this I can disguise my middle bit and still feel on trend for summer." As someone else said Selene's son looked "extremely uncomfortable", another called her "embarrassing". "Just had to do the side view, your poor son," someone lese commented. "Embarrassing," another shouted. "That youngster is gonna be made fun of his entire life for her poor decisions," someone else sighed. "I'm sure he's ashamed of being around you," another insisted. However, Selene hit back at the criticism, as she wrote: "I literally have a dress on all the way down to my knees, fully covered. "There was a lot of mums, aunties and grandmas wearing the same kind of dress. "But since I'm not a size 2 or shaped like a a square, it's a problem when I do it. OKAY!" And there were those in the comments who defended Selene, with one writing: "She can't help that she's fine, y'all lol!" "Nothing wrong with your outfit, you are beautiful," another added. "Slay it sis!!! You looks amazing!" a third commented. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and you look like a proud and beautiful mum, dressed appropriately," someone else said.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The moon: Facts about our planet's lunar companion
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Quick facts about the moon How far away it is: An average of 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) from our planet How big it is: 2,159 miles (3,475 km) across, or about one-fourth our planet's size How old it is: About 4.4 billion years old The moon is our constant companion and the only natural object that always orbits Earth. It's about four times smaller than Earth and its gravity is much weaker, which is why astronauts bounce around on it like a trampoline. But even though our moon is relatively small, it still has a big effect on our planet. The moon is why our oceans have tides, and it may even help stabilize Earth's tilt and rotation, keeping the lengths of our days and seasons the same. Read on to learn more fascinating facts about the moon. The moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle. Instead, it's more stretched out, kind of like an oval, which means its distance from Earth varies by about 30,000 miles (48,000 km). The surface of the moon is rusting. It's turning redder as Earth's atmosphere interacts with iron in the soil. NASA has spotted water on the moon. The same side of the moon always faces Earth. Scientists have grown plants in moon dirt from the Apollo missions. The leading theory is that the moon formed about 4.4 billion years ago, not long after the solar system was born. Many enormous space rocks were flying near the early Earth at that time. Astronomers believe a massive object called Theia crashed into early Earth. The crash would have melted part of our world and destroyed our planet's atmosphere, but the collision created the material that eventually formed the moon. Some astronomers have different versions of this theory, such as the possibility that a baby Earth was turned into a doughnut of molten rock called a synestia after Theia vaporized our planet. According to this idea, as the space doughnut cooled, material at its outer edges combined into small "moonlets" and, eventually, the moon itself. An even stranger theory suggests that Earth's gravity allowed the planet to steal the moon from Venus. Whatever its origin story, the moon has been with us throughout human history, as evidenced by its many names. The Latin word for the moon is "luna," and the English word "lunar" is derived from it. In Greek, Selene is the name of a mythical moon goddess, which gives us the word "selenology," or the study of the moon's rocks. The moon is made mostly of rocks that are rich in iron and magnesium. The moon's face is covered in craters, which were left by various space objects that slammed into the moon over billions of years. And because the moon doesn't have wind to wipe away these scars, or plates of crust that sink and carry different surface features into the planet's core, the scars stick around. On the far side of the moon is the South Pole-Aitken Basin — a giant hole 1,550 miles (2,500 km) wide and 8 miles (13 km) deep. Scientists are still scratching their heads over how it formed. The moon also has large, dark features called "maria," or "seas" in Latin, since they were once believed to be bodies of water. Today, researchers know these areas were carved from the moon's crust billions of years ago, when lava flowed over the lunar surface. Although we know that maria aren't actually bodies of water, trace amounts of water may exist in dark regions at the moon's poles. Much like a comet, the moon also has a long tail. It's made of sodium atoms blasted out of the moon's soil by meteor strikes and then pushed hundreds of thousands of miles away by the sun's rays. Earth sometimes wears this tail like a scarf. The moon has an atmosphere, but it's much different from Earth's atmosphere. An extremely thin layer of gas blankets the moon. In comparison, Earth's atmosphere at sea level has around a billion billion times more molecules in the same space. The moon's atmosphere contains many types of atoms, including oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, helium and even tiny amounts of water. It also has weirder chemicals, such as argon, radon and polonium. Some of these chemicals came from the moon itself, which "breathed" them out as it cooled. Others were delivered by comets. Although there is oxygen on the moon, there's not enough for humans to breathe. The moon is also full of dust. Moon dust is made from extremely sharp and tiny pieces of volcanic glass that have been smashed out of the lunar soil by tiny meteorites. The thin atmosphere means these fragments hardly ever get worn away, so dust on the moon is toxic and dangerous; it even clogged the equipment and zippers Apollo astronauts brought to the moon. Humans have worked to explore the moon since the beginning of the Space Age. It's the only place in the solar system, besides Earth, that humans have set foot upon. NASA's historic Apollo program first brought astronauts to the moon's surface on July 20, 1969, winning the space race for the United States. Instruments placed on the moon during the Apollo missions are still being used by scientists today. Measurements from these missions have shown that the moon is moving away from Earth by about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) per year and that quakes on the moon spread from cliff-like cracks on the surface. Apollo astronauts also brought back 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of moon rocks with them that are still being studied today. China's Chang'e program and India's Chandrayaan program have both landed spacecraft on the moon. Soviet probes have also landed on the moon, and the Russian and Japanese space agencies have sent spacecraft to circle the moon. Israel tried to land on the moon's surface, but the lander crashed. NASA also wants to revisit the moon. As part of its Artemis program, the space agency wants to place American astronauts back on the moon's surface as a launching point to Mars. Image 1 of 4 Humans landed on the moon for the first time on July 20, 1969. Image 2 of 4 A total lunar eclipse happens when the full moon passes directly through Earth's shadow. This makes the moon appear red and is often called a "blood moon." Image 3 of 4 A supermoon occurs when there's a full moon during the moon's nearest point to Earth in its orbit. This makes the moon appear bigger and brighter than usual. Image 4 of 4 An image of the Apollo 17 moon rock troctolite 76535. This study was focused on sample 79221. Will Earth ever lose its moon? Why can't we see the far side of the moon? Why can we sometimes see the moon in the daytime?
Forbes
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Bringing Beloved Characters To Life For Amazon Prime's 'Wheel Of Time'
A fight between Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) and Selene (Natasha O'Keeffe) in Season Three of "Wheel of Time." Sharon Gilham told me that the scale of the battle in the cold open for the second season of Amazon Prime's Wheel of Time was the sort of sequence that usually gets reserved for the last episode of a season. The costume designer joined the series during production of that season, the first was costumed by Isis Mussenden. The second is also when Davina Lamont began to design hair, makeup and prosthetics for the hit series. We met on Zoom to talk about their work on this show - and how the series really required and supported their collaboration. There is so much about their work to find fascinating. Because what they are doing is not simply dressing actors; this is not making sure someone looks nice enough to go on camera and look good. But they are designing entire characters, often from the ground up, as well as fleshing out entire cultures. And, they are doing so for a legendary IP, which means that before the series became a wildly popular streaming success, it already had a massive global audience. The book series is made up of 11 novels by Robert Jordan alone followed by three novels co-written with Brandon Sanderson, who finished the last books from Jordan's drafts and notes. Jordan died in September of 2007, long before the story was finished. Rhuarc (Björn Landberg) in an incredible perforated cape and full desert dress from Season Three of 'Wheel of Time.' 'Well,' Lamont said to me with a grin, 'the first episode was, it was like a slap in the face. It was right at the beginning, right at the start. And that was a true, telltale sign of how the whole show was going to go. But for us, thankfully, we shot in sequence, and it doesn't normally happen that way. The Battle of Two Rivers definitely didn't happen that way. The first episode was shot in sequence so that we could have the rips and tears, and the blood continuity would just keep going as we shot that for seven days.' 'These high fashion, avant-garde hairstyles,' Lamont explained, 'we didn't clean up from day to day, so we could just keep building on and having more blood splatters, more dust, more debris over everyone and keep building forward. That was fantastic.' Tanchican attire from the third season of 'Wheel of Time.' I surround myself with stories and storytellers, stories and the ways they are told are infinitely fascinating, and when you study anything deeply you start to develop questions. Continuity is a challenge for any aspect of on-camera filmmaking, but I am unsure that audiences understand how much work that is, really interesting, fun work, for the people responsible for what all the armies will look like and wear as they move take by take through scenes. 'We had many debates,' Gilham told me, 'about how many repeats we were going to need for each person, between us and the amazing standby team, because they never want to be caught out, understandably. They always need to have enough costumes and repeats. For example, in that scene, because they were going to have a stunt double and have to have repeats. And for some of the costumes, we did have to have more than one stage of breakdown. But I think we know it's not logical, it's not written down somewhere how many repeats you should have. You just have to kind of go on your instinct.' Making The Battle of Two Rivers was challenging for everyone, but talking to the designers, I doubt anyone had a problem with that. It really sounds like a bunch of brillant makers were let loose with budgets to do their work however they do so best. 'I didn't want to compromise the looks of the outfits,' Gilham continued. 'I didn't want to compromise the design. When we were working out that sequence, and we started making lots of prototype costumes for the Aes Sedai, I made this thing called the magic room, which was in one of the fitting rooms upstairs. We dressed all these mannequins in the prototype costumes and got Ciarán Donnelly, the director and Rafe Judkins and everyone, everybody else, all their assistants came to have a look. We lit it very theatrically. And when they all came in there were about 20 costumes on mannequins. It was like a still life of Aes Sedai. I said, I could put them all in long shawls, which would cover up everything, so you could change them as many times as you like, do whatever you want to shoot out of sequence. Or, I could do this, where every single one has their own identity, their own character and their own outfit, that's in the couture style. And they just kind of went, 'well, it's got to be this.'' Rosamund Pike wearing Moiraine's bodice armour. How lovely to hear a story about people working together and considering what the right choice might be. 'It's the fine line between not compromising and not simplifying the design for the sake of the action,' that's how Gilman explained it, and I feel certain that this is something important. I asked them how they knew where to start on such a massive production. The scale of production becomes terrifying quickly if you think about it very long. 'We sort of do our own thing initially, " Gilham said. 'You know, individually read the scripts, individually do research. I'll come up with mood boards, and I start buying fabrics, or sourcing fabrics or just looking at fabrics out of the corner of my eye,' she laughed. 'I have an illustrator who works with me and we develop the ideas of a costume from a mood board, that's how we start the big set piece costumes. But not every costume is designed like that, not every costume is an illustration because there's not enough time. I would say we make, like, 80% of the costumes. I'm doing that in my world and starting to prototype shapes and do toiles, and work with the cutters or the leather department and starting to play with ideas and start to do samples.' A digital illustration showing the creation of bodice armour for Moraine. In 'Old Tongue,' the text on the bodice reads: "It Is Time, And I Must Do What Must Be Done." 'For me,' said Lamont, 'once we read the scripts, we had our meetings with Rafe Judkins and the producers and directors. From there, there was researcher, Sarah Nakamura, who we would go to and get more info, depending on what culture we had to design. We called her 'the Oracle' because she knew everything about all the books, and all the big things that we should hit on when we're designing makeup, hair, costume, and prosthetics as well. She would say to us, 'this is what the fans would want to see,' and we would keep that in mind for when we do any design work. I also had a concept artist that I would work with to do the hyper-realistic concept drawings for us to see where we would go.' 'Referencing Sarah Nakamura,' Gilham said, 'she was incredibly helpful because the books have so much information and really long descriptions of these cultures, or nations as we call them. Within each, they are all so specific, and there needed to be a strong identity in terms of color palette and the materials used. I think we go down our routes and we get as much of it in because we feel like there's such a massive fan base for the books, and you really want to respect them. That's a really important part of the design. So we're going down these routes, doing our own thing, and then it gets to a point where we have to have a meeting.' 'Yes,' Lamont interjected with a smile. 'We have a meeting. To see what she's doing, what I was doing, and surprisingly, we were always in sync, right from the start.' Moiraine's finished bodice armour. For a little context; in most any production there is collaboration to some degree, delegation and compromise between costumes, makeup and hair. Telling stories on film, by the very nature of the medium, requires many people to work together. I think we all know group projects can be hellish, but they can also be wonderful. Working with others can inspire us to do our best work and it helps anyone get through the inevitable challenges which will always turn up when anyone ever tries to do anything. 'Davina and her team would come into the costume fittings,' Gilham told me. 'From time to time I would pop down to makeup, if there was something to do with hair that we were creating. Or even just to have a look and be part of that other universe. So that you're not always stuck in your own world, so that you're really aware of the crossover and how it works, how people are working together. Collaboration between the departments is really, really vital. I think we both feel incredibly lucky to be working with each other because we really do understand each other. We were prepared to collaborate, prepared to compromise or make changes.' 'I think you would show me your design work,' Lamont turned and said to Gilham, 'in the colour palette that you were going with. And that would excite me, and there would be this constant excitement between the two departments. It was great, I don't believe I've had this kind of colleague before, or to be able to be excited about what we're both doing separately.' Sevanna (Natasha Culzac) in one of her fabulous, incredibly complicated costumes. Credit: Ilze Kitshoff/Prime 'Davina would come into the leather department if we were making a headdress or something,' Gilham explained, 'and we would all talk together with that person, with the props person, or the couture leather worker, and make sure that it was going to work. The thing about us, about our departments, is that everything we do is 360°, you can't just have what it looks like from the front. It has to work, it has to be comfortable for the actor and they have to understand where we're coming from, what our ideas are.' 'I think we both really love texture,' Gilham mused. 'And all the detail, it sort of meant that we were always rising to another level with each other. If one person pushed it a bit, the other person pushed it a bit more. So we have these incredibly textured, detailed, layered looks for everybody. If there was a simple costume, or simple makeup, or hair or whatever, it was done for a reason. It wasn't just, we've run out of time. It was for that character, for this reason.' 'What I love is when you really get to go into detail,' Lamont said, before turning back to Gilham. 'Like, when we do details, like Sevanna where you've got the porcupine headdress on, and when she turns around and it just keeps going… There's more that you can see from behind, and those are the really special moments, because I don't even know whether we saw that on screen. I ended up posting pictures. It's just, this is the detail that we've gone into on every single character. I don't believe that any character kind of got short shrift. There is no, 'oh, that'll do' in our language. Every single character had something exciting for both of our departments.' Sevanna (Natasha Culzac), an influential Aiel woman, in her porcupine headdress. For all the flash and pomp required by high fantasy, if you have not seen the show, it might surprise you to know that The Wheel of Time is a subtlety told story. It takes its time, rushes nothing. It must feel like a massive responsibility, to create an entire world. And that is exactly what shows and films have to do to keep us audiences intrigued and interested. The details in Wheel of Time matter very much to all the people who made it. Every little extra thing done, it was always done for a good reason. The making part matters so much, even though it can be hard to see the whole when we're crouched up close looking at the details. The further removed we are from the making part of things, or the less making is actually going on, then I think it becomes harder for those of us watching to bond with whomever we see on whatever screen. That disconnect often hovers beneath the surface, it's not always a conscious understanding. But whatever the moniker, what we are experiencing is an extension of the uncanny valley. No matter how alien, we do want part of the reflection to show ourselves. Representation is so very important. A profile view of Sevanna (Natasha Culzac) in her porcupine headdress. Given the state of our world at this moment, and I mean the whole swath, from technology and politics to international business and fine art, all of it; in the face of it all, art matters and stories will always help save us. Any of us might be surprised how easy it could be to inspire resistance. My regular readers might remember that my personal definition of art is pretty simple: Art is work that evokes an involuntary emotional response. The feeling part is so personal, and for all of us feeling connected and part-of can make anything feel more worthy of examination. The gorgeous characters designed by Sharon Gilham (costume design) and Davina Lamont (hair, makeup and prosthetics) for seasons two and three of Wheel of Time are all available on Amazon Prime Video. Please take your time and enjoy their majesty.
